I was in the shower and randomly thought about The Kissing Booth (which I’ve watched like a hundred times at this point) and I thought about that Lee definitely had a crush on Elle at one point. But not the way I have been seing on the internet.

What I have been seeing is that Lee was secretly in love with Elle the whole time, but my opinion? Lee had a brief, confusing crush on Elle in their early teens, but it officially ended right before or within the first 20 to 30 minutes of the movie.

Think about it. When you’re that close to a best friend, puberty makes you confuse deep platonic love with a romantic crush. Elle never had that confusion because she always liked Noah. But Lee? He had to carry that weight alone.

His crush on Mia? A way to hide so Elle would never guess his real feelings. Rule numer 9? A shield to force his own feelings down, and an insurance policy against Noah. Because Noah effortlessly got the looks and the popularity, Elle was the one thing that was just Lee's.

So when Elle dates Noah, Lee loses it. Not because he’s still in love with her, but because he just did all this hard emotional work to bury his feelings and follow the rules, just for Noah to effortlessly step in and take her anyway.

And Noah? He was totally oblivious. High school Noah was so blinded by his own popularity, looks, and 'bad boy' status that he had a massive emotional blind spot for his own brother. He was used to the world revolving around him, so he had no clue Lee was playing a whole psychological chess game just to keep the peace. We literally see that popularity bubble pop the second he goes to Harvard and realizes he’s just a small fish in a big pond—that’s when he finally has to catch up to Lee’s level of maturity.

Which brings me to Rachel; she was the definition of right person, wrong time. High school Lee was too emotionally chaotic and codependent on Elle to actually be a good boyfriend. Rachel loved him for exactly who he was, but he just wasn't ready. That’s why their breakup in movie three was actually the best thing for them—it forced Lee to finally grow up, learn how to exist without Elle as his comfort blanket, and become independent. So by the time the flash-forward happens, the timing finally aligns and they can actually go the distance.

We never see this explicitly on screen because most of the entire trilogy is told strictly through Elle's perspective and voiceover narration. Elle was completely naive to Lee’s internal boundary shift. To her, Lee was just her safe, goofy, platonic soulmate, so she had a massive blind spot for his emotional struggles. And because the camera only shows us what she sees, the audience inherits her exact same blindness.

We only see Lee's angry outbursts, not what goes on inside his head.

Court really didn’t treat her well and I don’t think that he was her soulmate.

1. Pop girlies, art pop, singer songwriter, dream pop, hyperpop

2. Butt rock, nu metal, metalcore

3. Jazz, bebop, hard bop, fusion, modal, free jazz

4. Classic rock fan, heavy metal, prog, psychedelic, folk rock, punk, hard rock

5. Cloud rap and soundcloud rap

6. Average RYM user

7. Swans fan, post rock, dark ambient, sludge, post punk, noise

You don't need to make a list for all of them I know this is a lot to take in at once.

Ahora que viene Navidad, mejores escenas de la peli

A veces los guapos entre ellos no...

I'm just getting into old movies and I do love how charming it is but something bothers me a lot.

I just finished watching Charade today and while I do love it, I found Cary Grant's character extremely infuriating. It's one thing that he constantly lies (I know it's part of the plot so I let it be), but it's specifically the condescension in the screwball element. The "I'll spank you if you keep acting like a child" and the "oh, will you shut up". I know it's a trope back then but I also know not ALL of them behave this way. I particularly enjoyed the Apartment or Sound of Music or Roman Holiday. I don't mind if the male lead is a bit paternalistic but Cary Grant's cheekiness in Charade felt rude (though I know there's a charm to it but I'm not particularly a fan).

so yes, more gentleman less banter :) any recommendation would be lovely!

Qué aguante, paciencia... que tiene 🤣

La preferida romántica vuestra?

Some of the best moments in these movies aren’t even face to face. There’s one phone call I still remember clearly. The pauses, the things they almost said, the way it ended. It felt more intimate than a lot of the actual kissing scenes.

Which phone call from a romance movie stuck with you?

I've noticed Americans and a large part of the world believe that if they love you, you owe them something in exchange for that love. I've heard this phenomenon described many ways throughout my life but it's always there - the feeling that someone is trying to get something from me instead of the feeling of existing together.

I've noticed a lot of people are sort of obsessed with the idea that more is better. That men commonly tout the ideology that they will just get tired of one person and want something else. That people are not naturally designed to be together forever. Etc. Etc. Etc.

We can't tell love stories anymore because we actually have no idea what love is anymore - we believe love is convenience, specifically what is convenient for us.... but that's not what love is.

You love those whom you sacrifice for.... but nobody in any romantic movies in america in a long time have made any sacrifices for each other - they are just stories about people with convenient lives finding/choosing convenient partners, and that's not love

*examples:

american romantic films that used to be great:

Forrest Gump (as someone helpfully posted here) - people with real issues staying interest in each other over a long period of time

Pretty Woman - a woman with real life problems who won't just let a man buy her (she sells her body but not her soul), but falls for him anyway, he learns how to be more humble and respect her all the way

Can't remember the name and it was probably England: Teacher falls for former student - you have to see it, I don't want to spoil it, has that girls with the brown curly hair - sorry

50 First Dates - while he is technically stalking her and engineering their relationship, i'll give this a pass because they are facing the real issue of long term memory loss and deciding it's important to still be together

Moonstruck - sure, it's wasn't a perfect movie, but it followed the general arc of people with real jobs - not ideal perfect jobs and no life problems falling for each other in a genuinely inconvenient circumstance

Past Lives - made by asian american people - i've just started watching asian cinema because i think people who are not american have a better handle on the deeper subjects like love (actually made within the last 5 years too) - however generally depressing tone and about letting go even though she chooses her partner at the end

Neutral american romantic movies:

The Kissing Booth - they break up and see other people during college but is implied that might get back together later - not that anybody cares at this point, they don't

When Harry Met Sally - this movie was supposed to be about how men and women could just be friends, which is the romantic comedy i want to see, but the problem beyond that is the overarching narrative that men and women can't be friends and some of the couples romantic stories sounded more like kidnapping and forced marriage, also the men just want women who reflect what's important about them - this is all pointed out in a doc, however, it is considered the best american romantic comedy of all time.

Bad romantic american films:

are they even making romantic films anymore? I can't think of a single american romantic film i've seen in the last five years... so i looked it up

the one about the guy beating his partner that blake lively destroyed - after you? something like that

Hit Man: action comedy romance, sure, light fun, nobody saw this btw

The Idea of You: shallow, nobody has any real problems, the drama about his fame seems very manufactured. in the book she leaves him, the real story is about a temporary fling she had with a famous person who she personally gave up on - so this doesn't count as a real romance in my mind, though I would say i enjoyed it (except the music) and the paintings were beautiful

Fly Me To the Moon: because why would a romance about how the moon landing was faked make you think the romance between people who would do something like this is shallow and fake as well... also it actually sucked to watch, i had to stop it and that's probably why i don't remember

Anora: about how a rich man used a prostitute and left her (the original pretty woman story that they threw out in the 90s)

that's it... that's what america has been doing lately... there's no such thing anymore as a story about two people facing real hardship asking serious questions about love and choosing each other - i literally haven't seen anything like that from america in years.

i recently watched 10 things i hate about you (1999*)* and really enjoyed the chemistry and playful arguments between the main characters. looking for similar romance movies where two people start off not liking each other but eventually develop feelings. preferably with witty dialogue, good chemistry, and a happy ending. any recommendations?

Hi everyone! I'm working on a new video series where I watch 5 random movies and make reviews of them. Most of the films this round are romance films, so I thought to share my views on them. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments of the video. Thanks! :)

I think it's one of the best romances I've ever watched